Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears are an English New Wave band formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the new wavesynthesizer bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success.

Following the release of their third platinum-selling album, The Seeds of Love (1989), Smith and Orzabal parted company in 1991, though Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name throughout the remainder of the 1990s. The duo re-formed in 2000, and released an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, in 2004. To date, Tears for Fears have sold over 25 million albums worldwide, including more than 8 million in the U.S.

Orzabal and Smith met as teenagers in the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England. The duo became session musicians for the band Neon,[3] where they first met future Tears For Fears drummer Manny Elias. Neon also featured Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher who went on to become Naked Eyes. Smith and Orzabal's professional debut came with the band Graduate, a mod revival/New Wave act. In 1980, Graduate released an album, Acting My Age, and a single "Elvis Should Play Ska" (referring to Elvis Costello, not Presley). The single just missed the Top 100 in the UK, though it performed well in Spain and in Switzerland.

By 1981, Orzabal and Smith were becoming more influenced by artists such as Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno. They departed from Graduate and formed a band called History of Headaches, which they soon changed to Tears for Fears. The plan was for Orzabal and Smith to form the nucleus of the group and bring in surrounding musicians to help them complete the picture.

The band's name was inspired by Primal Therapy, developed by the American psychologist Arthur Janov, which gained tremendous publicity after John Lennon became Janov's patient in 1970. In a 2004 interview with VH1 UK, Orzabal and Smith said that when they finally met Janov in the mid-1980s, they were disillusioned to find that he had become quite "Hollywood" and wanted the band to write a musical.

Tears for Fears were signed to Phonogram Records, UK in 1981 by A&R manager Dave Bates. Their first single as Tears for Fears, "Suffer the Children" (produced by David Lord), was released on that label in November 1981, followed by the first edition of "Pale Shelter" (produced by Mike Howlett) in March 1982, though neither of these releases were successful.

The band achieved their first taste of success with their third single, "Mad World", which reached no.3 in the UK in November 1982.[4] Their first album, The Hurting, was released in March 1983. For this LP (and the next), keyboard player and composer Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Elias were considered full bandmembers, though Smith and Orzabal were still essentially the frontmen and public face of the band.

The album, produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum, showcased guitar and synthesiser-based songs with lyrics reflecting Orzabal's bitter childhood. The Hurting may be considered Tears for Fears' only true concept album, as references to emotional distress and primal scream therapy are found in nearly every song. The album itself was a big success and had a lengthy chart run (65 weeks) in the UK, where it reached no. 1 and platinum status. It also reached the Top 20 in several other countries and yielded the international hit singles "Mad World" (top 5 hit in the Philippines and South Africa), "Change" (top 40 hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines and South Africa), and a re-recorded version of "Pale Shelter (top 10 hit in the Philippines)". All three of these singles reached the Top Five in the UK.

Towards the end of 1983, the band released a new, slightly more experimental single, "The Way You Are", intended as a stopgap while they worked on their second album. The single was a Top 30 hit in the UK, but did not come close to matching the success of their three previous hits, despite a national concert tour in December of that year (captured on the In My Mind's Eye live video release). The single, which heavily featured sampling and programmed rhythms, was a departure from Tears for Fears' previous musical approach. In the liner notes to their 1996 B-sides compilation album Saturnine Martial & Lunatic they wrote that "this was the point we realised we had to change direction", although the somewhat experimental style of the single continued to be reflected in their forthcoming B-sides.

In early 1984, they began working with a new producer, Jeremy Green, on their new single "Mothers Talk". However, the band were ultimately unhappy with the results and so producer Chris Hughes was brought back into the fold and the "Mothers Talk" single reproduced for release in August 1984. A departure from their earlier works, the single became a Top 20 hit in the UK, but it was the follow-up single "Shout" (released in the UK in November 1984) that was the real beginning of the band's international fame.

"Shout", a Top 5 UK hit, paved the way for their second album, Songs from the Big Chair (released in February 1985), which entered the UK album chart at no. 2 and remained in the upper reaches of the chart for the next 12 months. They did away with the predominantly synth-pop feel of the first album, instead expanding into a more sophisticated sound that would become the band's stylistic hallmark. Anchored around the creative hub of Orzabal, Stanley, and producer Hughes, the new Tears for Fears sound helped to propel Songs from the Big Chair into becoming one of the year's biggest sellers worldwide, eventually being certified triple-platinum in the UK and quintuple-platinum in the US (where it remained the No. 1 album for five weeks in the summer of 1985).[5]

The album's title was inspired by the book and television miniseriesSybil, the chronicle of a woman with multiple personality disorder who sought refuge in her analyst's "big chair", Orzabal and Smith stating that they felt each of the album's songs had a distinctive personality of its own. The band had also recorded a track titled "The Big Chair", which was released as the B-side to "Shout" but was not included on the album.

The album's success came in conjunction with the array of hit singles it yielded: "Mothers Talk" (re-recorded yet again for its US release in 1986), "Shout" (No. 4 UK, No. 1 in the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands,Switzerland, and a huge hit in other territories, in fact one of the biggest hit songs of the 1980s), "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", (their highest-charting UK and Irish hit at No. 2 and another No. 1 in the US and in Canada), "Head over Heels" (UK No. 12, US No. 3, Ireland No. 5, Canada No. 8) and "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" (UK No. 23 and Ireland No. 10). Some territories even saw the release of limited edition 10" singles for these hits, and a variety of double packs and picture discs in addition to the regular 7" and 12" formats.

Following the album's release, the band went on a world tour that lasted most of the year. Among these was a performance at the Montreux Golden Rose Rock and Pop Festival in May 1985.[6] In September 1985, the band performed "Shout" at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards at the Radio City Music Hall in New York.[7] Also during the tour, Orzabal and Smith discovered an American female singer/pianist, Oleta Adams, who was performing in a Kansas Cityhotel bar, and whom they invited to collaborate on their next album. Towards the end of the year, the band released a video collection/documentary entitled Scenes from the Big Chair.

In February 1986, having completed the lengthy and exhausting Big Chair world tour, Tears for Fears were honoured at the 1986 Brit Awards in London where they won the Best British Single award for "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".[8] The band were also nominated for Best British Group and Best British Album, and Chris Hughes was nominated for Best Producer.[8] The band performed the song at the ceremony, which became the final public performance of drummer Manny Elias who left the group shortly afterwards.

Orzabal and Stanley then worked together on a side project named Mancrab and released a single, "Fish for Life", which was written for the soundtrack of the film The Karate Kid, Part II. The track was written and produced by Orzabal and Stanley, and featured vocals by US singer/dancer Eddie Thomas, who was one of the dancers in the video for "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".

On 13 July 1985, Tears for Fears were scheduled to perform at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia for Bob Geldof's Live Aid charity event. However, on the morning of the historic event, it was announced that the band had pulled out of the show (they were replaced by blues rock group George Thorogood And The Destroyers, which has a strong Philadelphia-area following). The official reason given for their non-appearance was that two of their backing musicians, guitarist Andrew Saunders and saxophonist Will Gregory, had quit due to the expiration of their contract, they were replaced by Alan Griffiths on guitar & Josephine Wells playing saxophone for the remaining bulk of the 1985 world tour. In place of appearing, the band pledged to donate proceeds from their concerts played in Tokyo, Sydney, London and New York.

As a further donation, the band also recorded a slightly rewritten version of one of their biggest hits and released it for the British fund-raising initiative Sport Aid, a sister project of Band Aid in which people took part in running races of varying length and seriousness to raise more money for African famine relief projects. Sport Aid's slogan was "I Ran the World", therefore Tears for Fears released "Everybody Wants to Run the World" (No. 5 in the UK and No. 4 in Ireland). Indirectly, the band were involved in the earlier Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" from 1984, which featured a slowed down sample from their song "The Hurting" in the introduction.

It was 1989 before the group released their third album, The Seeds of Love (on which Ian Stanley appeared for the last time as a member of Tears for Fears), at a reported production cost of over a million pounds. The album was written largely by Orzabal along with keyboardist Nicky Holland, who had toured with the band on their "Big Chair" world tour in 1985. Moving from various studios and using various sets of producers over many months, the band ultimately decided to scrap the recordings and take the reins themselves with assistance from engineer Dave Bascombe. Much of the material was recorded in jam sessions and later edited down. The length of the production impacted on the band's management company, who had financially over-extended themselves in other business matters and were hoping for an earlier release date to pay off their debts.[9]

The album retained the band's epic sound while showing increasing influences ranging from jazz and blues to The Beatles, the latter being evident on the hit single "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (the first record ever played on the British Isles-based longwave radio station Atlantic 252). The second single from the album was "Woman in Chains" (a Top 40 hit in the UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the US), on which Phil Collins played drums and Oleta Adams – whom Orzabal would later guide to a successful solo career – shared vocals.

The album was a worldwide success, entering the UK album charts at no. 1, making the Top 10 in the US and in numerous other countries, eventually going on to sell millions of copies worldwide. The band set out on an extensive "Seeds of Love" world tour sponsored by Philips to start recovering the debt incurred. The band's show in Santa Barbara in May 1990 would be captured on the Going To California live video as the singles "Advice For The Young At Heart" and "Famous Last Words" delivered modest chart success.

A 64-page companion book, simply titled Tears for Fears – The Seeds of Love, was released by Virgin Books in 1990 and offered extensive insight from Orzabal, Holland and Adams into the songwriting and production process for the album, as well as the musical scores for each track and rare promotional photographs from the era.

After The Seeds of Love, Orzabal and Smith had an acrimonious falling out and parted company in 1991. The split was blamed on Orzabal's intricate but frustrating approach to production and Smith's desire to slow down the pace of their work (prior to the release of The Seeds of Love, Smith's marriage had also broken down). Another factor in the break-up was the band's manager, Paul King, who declared bankruptcy in 1990 and was later convicted of fraud. The duo had signed to King's Outlaw Management Agency in 1982 and remained clients throughout the remainder of the decade (the agency also operated the band's fan club, the Tears For Fears World Service, between 1983–86).

However, by the late 1980s the agency had run into serious debt and, after discrepancies were discovered in King's financial management, Orzabal became increasingly concerned that Smith was unwilling to drop King as their manager.[9] Outlaw folded in 1990 with debts of almost £1 million as King declared bankruptcy. In 2004, following fraudulent activities with his other businesses, King was prosecuted for fraud and imprisoned for three and a half years, as well as being disqualified from being a company director again for ten years.[10]

Following Smith's departure, Orzabal kept the band name alive by releasing the 1992 hit single "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)". The single was released to promote the band's greatest hits collection Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92), which featured every single to reach the Top 20, either in the UK or internationally, apart from the Sport Aid fundraiser. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK and has since been certified double platinum.

Smith relocated to New York City, and in 1993 he released his first solo album, Soul On Board. The album was a commercial failure and Smith himself has said on numerous occasions that he despised it, alleging that he only made it to fulfill his recording contract. In 1995 he met local songwriter and producer Charlton Pettus. The two formed a self-described "organic" partnership, writing simple, melody-based songs and recording them at home on vintage analogue equipment. The result was released in 1997 under the name Mayfield and a short US tour followed.

Second line-up: Elemental and Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1993-1996)[edit source]Edit

In 1993, Orzabal (still under the name Tears for Fears) released the album Elemental together with longtime collaborator Alan Griffiths and co-producer Tim Palmer. It yielded the international hit "Break It Down Again" (Top 20 in the UK, Canada, France, and Italy) and was supported with another successful world tour, including a college tour of the US where "Break It Down Again" reached No. 25.

The album was a Top 10 hit in the UK, France and Italy, and Top 30 in several other countries. Although it charted considerably lower in the US than the previous two studio albums (No. 45), it still earned a Gold disc there for sales of over half a million copies. The singles "Cold", "Elemental" and "Goodnight Song" met with minor chart success in certain territories. The lyrics to "Cold" contained a scathing reference to the band's former manager, Paul King, in which Orzabal sings "King got caught with his fingers in the till. Where's your calculator - did you leave it in your will?"

Orzabal, still working with Griffiths and Palmer, released another Tears for Fears album, Raoul and the Kings of Spain, in 1995. This was a more contemplative work that delved into his own Spanish heritage and showcased a new Latinmusical influence (Raoul was originally the name Orzabal's parents wanted to give him, and is also the name of his own first son). Orzabal stated that it was not a concept album but that there was a theme, namely that of familial relationships. The album also included a reunion with Oleta Adams who duetted with Orzabal on the track "Me and My Big Ideas".

The album was not a commercial success by Tears for Fears standards, though minor chart success came via the single release of the title track (top 40 in the UK) and (to a lesser extent) the single "God's Mistake". The release of the album had been delayed for nearly a year due to a last-minute label switch from Mercury to Epic (part of Sony Music), and the ensuing confusion (Mercury had already begun promotion) did not help the album's chances either. Although the track listing for the album had been changed at the record company's request, Sony did not extend Tears for Fears' contract following the album's release. A worldwide tour followed, including dates in Latin America, though Orzabal declined to tour his native UK this time except for a single show in London.

In 1996 a B-sides collection, Saturnine Martial & Lunatic, was released on Mercury, which included B-sides and some rare tracks from the successful 1982–93 period. The liner notes, written by Orzabal and Chris Hughes, gave fans an insight into the songwriting process as well as a rare glimpse of self-deprecating humour regarding the tracks they would rather forget.

In 1999, Mercury Records released remastered editions of Tears for Fears' first three albums, including B-sides, remixes, and extended versions. Supervised by producer Chris Hughes, the remasters also included new liner notes for each album providing details and new insights into the music.

After undertaking production work and some songwriting for the Icelandic singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini on her 1999 album Love in the Time of Science, Orzabal re-teamed with Alan Griffiths and released the album Tomcats Screaming Outside, released on Eagle Records as a solo project under his own name. Whereas Tears for Fears' work had become guitar-based, Tomcats Screaming Outside showcased a predominantly electronic style. The album was released in April 2001 in the UK and Europe, but had the unfortunate coincidence to be released on 11 September 2001 in the US, the same day the United States experienced its 9/11 terrorist attack, and ultimately drew little notice outside the group's core fan base.

In 2000, routine paperwork obligations led the duo to re-establish contact with each other after Orzabal signed a business document on Smith's behalf.[11] Smith flew to Bath (where Orzabal still lived) and they had dinner and decided to work on a new album together.[12]

The songwriting sessions included Charlton Pettus (Smith's collaborator since the mid-1990s), and fourteen songs were written and recorded in less than six months. The ensuing album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, was scheduled for release on Arista Records in late 2003, but a change in management at Arista prompted the band to opt out of their contract and switch to the New Door label (a new offshoot of Universal Music), and delayed the release until September 2004. Two US tours followed, and the 2004 tour included an unrehearsed guest appearance by Oleta Adams at the Kansas City show for a performance of "Woman in Chains". The song "Who Killed Tangerine?" was used in the movie Fever Pitch.

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending was released in the UK and Europe in March 2005 on Gut Records, shortly after the comeback single "Closest Thing to Heaven" became the first Tears for Fears UK Top 40 hit in a decade. The promo video for the single was a colourful fantasy that featured Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy riding in a hot air balloon. The European releases of the album contained all fourteen tracks recorded during the ELAHE sessions (the US version only contained twelve), and a brief tour of larger UK venues followed in April.

In 2005, the band began discussions with Universal Music for the release of a new comprehensive anthology of their work to date, including a new track entitled "Floating Down the River". However, the subsequent release (at least in the US) was a compilation issued as part of Hip-O Records' generic "Gold" series, a Universal subsidiary that specialises in budget-priced back catalogue compilations.

A live performance at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, recorded in June 2005, was released on CD and DVD in France and Benelux. Entitled Secret World – Live in Paris, it was released on the XIII Bis label in early 2006 and became a best-seller, with over 70,000 physical copies sold in addition to downloads. The CD contained the aforementioned new studio song, "Floating Down the River", and a remastered Curt Smith/Mayfield track, "What Are We Fighting For?". The relationship with XIII Bis proved so successful that Smith chose the comparatively small French label to release his 2007 solo album, Halfway, Pleased.

In 2006, Songs from the Big Chair was re-issued again by Universal Music, this time as a 2-disc Deluxe Edition with additional B-sides and rarities added, expanding further than the 1999 remastered version. The release did not include the lyrics as the band had intended with the original release, but came with a 24 page booklet including rare photographs and newly written liner notes. The 28-track set contained four sections, with the first disc containing the original album and various B-sides taken from the earlier 1999 remastered edition. It also included the rare piano version of "The Working Hour", which had previously only been available as a limited edition item. The second disc contained various 7" versions of the singles (including the aforementioned "The Way You Are", the re-recording of "I Believe", and the 1986 US remix of "Mothers Talk"), followed by various 12" remixes from the era.

In August 2009, the Raoul and the Kings of Spain album was also re-issued by Cherry Pop Records, featuring seven bonus B-side tracks from the time of its original release.[13]

In April 2010, Tears For Fears joined the reformed 80s pop group Spandau Ballet on their 7-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, before a 4-date headlining tour of their own in South East Asia (Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and a 17-date tour of the USA.[14]

The band continue to perform small scale tours on an annual basis. In 2011 and 2012, they played dates in the US, Japan, South Korea, Manila and South America.[15]

In May 2013, Smith confirmed that he was writing and recording new Tears for Fears material with Orzabal and Charlton Pettus. 3-4 songs were worked on in the UK at Orzabal's home studio, Neptune's Kitchen, in April of 2013. Further work on a new Tears For Fears album commenced in L.A. in July of 2013. According to Orzabal, they have been producing more dark, dramatic pieces of music. "There's one track that's a combination of Portishead and Queen. It's just crazy," Orzabal stated.[16] In August 2013, Tears For Fears released their first newly recorded material in nearly a decade, with a cover of Arcade Fire's "Ready to Start" made available on SoundCloud.[17]

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band's debut album The Hurting, Universal Music are re-releasing it in two Deluxe Editions (one a 2-disc set and the other a 4-disc set with a DVD of the 1983 In My Mind's Eye concert) in October 2013.